Thanks for the list (which I’ll keep handy this year) and the False Spring mention. I first read A False Spring nearly 50 years ago, and re read it just a few years back. I was surprised, upon the second reading, how much I’d vaguely recalled the various vignettes (Kilgore JC, Rico Carty, leaving Florida at dawn) at how much I enjoyed the book again. I emailed Pat Jordan to convey all this and he graciously replied and mentioned his sequel A Nice Tuesday, which picks up 45 years after the False Spring ending
I’m sure you’ll like him. He did a lot of magazine profiles in the 80’s, including one for Inside Sports on Steve Garvey. He wasn’t afraid (to use some pitching parlance) to go high and tight on his subjects. It caused quite a stir when it came out. He also, if I’m not mistaken, had a long time friendship with Tom Seaver
So many good books on that list. The Easter Parade was the first book I read last year; I was on a Richard Yates jag. I also loved Eat The Document and am a fan of Dana Spiotta's work in general. I'm also a Caleb Caudell fan—I see him in coffee shops all over Indianapolis—and am looking forward to reading Hardly Working
I like good sports books. Ball Four is on my shelf, as well as many others. I'll have to keep an eye out for Jordan's book, which I've heard of but never read. Marvin Miller's "A Whole New Ballgame" is a good book to go in tandem with Bouton's. It's the same era, with a completely different lens. Miller's story of the early MLB Player's union is as good as his takes on the Big Shots in baseball and their lack of intelligence and vision.
I read A False Spring in the first half of 2009 according to Google Doc (not a physical notebook). I’ve never had a dog, but the passage about his dog’s grief after Pat leaves home has stuck with me for 15 years and makes me sad whenever I think about it.
Well Happy New Year. Note that you started out talking about books, but then kinda went off the rails talking about baseball, and the psychological/physiological phenomena, the mysteries of pitching . . . and only with effort brought it back to a book list. Just saying! Keep up the great work, and here's to an even more successful 2025.
I've always wished I could "see" sports on the same level most of my friends do - I mean, like, I'll half-watch a basketball game at a bar (hi Chris!) but I won't comprehend the beauty in it, or even be able to consciously clock the differences in playstyle. Maybe my favorite book I read this year was "The Comeback" by the late Ed Vega (Suzanne's dad, if you can believe it - both great talents but otherwise nothing alike), which I liked in part because it made me get why people love hockey! The Pat Jordan book sounds good, but do you have any other recommendations for great books about baseball qua baseball?
Book review and lit magazine!!! Exciting and looking forward to it.
Thanks for the list (which I’ll keep handy this year) and the False Spring mention. I first read A False Spring nearly 50 years ago, and re read it just a few years back. I was surprised, upon the second reading, how much I’d vaguely recalled the various vignettes (Kilgore JC, Rico Carty, leaving Florida at dawn) at how much I enjoyed the book again. I emailed Pat Jordan to convey all this and he graciously replied and mentioned his sequel A Nice Tuesday, which picks up 45 years after the False Spring ending
That's amazing. I am going to reach out to him. It's such a funny, poignant book, and you've got this very vivid window into baseball then
I’m sure you’ll like him. He did a lot of magazine profiles in the 80’s, including one for Inside Sports on Steve Garvey. He wasn’t afraid (to use some pitching parlance) to go high and tight on his subjects. It caused quite a stir when it came out. He also, if I’m not mistaken, had a long time friendship with Tom Seaver
So many good books on that list. The Easter Parade was the first book I read last year; I was on a Richard Yates jag. I also loved Eat The Document and am a fan of Dana Spiotta's work in general. I'm also a Caleb Caudell fan—I see him in coffee shops all over Indianapolis—and am looking forward to reading Hardly Working
I like good sports books. Ball Four is on my shelf, as well as many others. I'll have to keep an eye out for Jordan's book, which I've heard of but never read. Marvin Miller's "A Whole New Ballgame" is a good book to go in tandem with Bouton's. It's the same era, with a completely different lens. Miller's story of the early MLB Player's union is as good as his takes on the Big Shots in baseball and their lack of intelligence and vision.
Thanks Ross. It was a nice read to end the year.
Cheers!
I read A False Spring in the first half of 2009 according to Google Doc (not a physical notebook). I’ve never had a dog, but the passage about his dog’s grief after Pat leaves home has stuck with me for 15 years and makes me sad whenever I think about it.
Well Happy New Year. Note that you started out talking about books, but then kinda went off the rails talking about baseball, and the psychological/physiological phenomena, the mysteries of pitching . . . and only with effort brought it back to a book list. Just saying! Keep up the great work, and here's to an even more successful 2025.
I've always wished I could "see" sports on the same level most of my friends do - I mean, like, I'll half-watch a basketball game at a bar (hi Chris!) but I won't comprehend the beauty in it, or even be able to consciously clock the differences in playstyle. Maybe my favorite book I read this year was "The Comeback" by the late Ed Vega (Suzanne's dad, if you can believe it - both great talents but otherwise nothing alike), which I liked in part because it made me get why people love hockey! The Pat Jordan book sounds good, but do you have any other recommendations for great books about baseball qua baseball?